by Brendan Cole
Newsweek
8/12/22 AT 8:03 AM EDT
A probe into Donald Trump's interactions with Saudi Arabia has resurfaced following a report FBI agents who raided the former president's Florida residence were seeking documents related to nuclear weapons.
Citing anonymous experts in classified information, The Washington Post said the search showed concern among U.S. government officials about what kind of information could be located at the Mar-a-Lago Club and whether it could fall into the wrong hands.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said he approved the decision for the search warrant at the resort. The Justice Department has filed a motion to make the warrant public, which could happen on Friday afternoon.
While the Post said these sources provided no further details over whether the documents were recovered, what the information was and which countries it pertained to, the raid has focused minds on an investigation released in February 2019.
That House of Representatives report highlighted whistleblowers' concerns with the Trump Administration's "efforts to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia," and was tweeted on Thursday by Judd Legum, who runs the Popular Information newsletter.
"We don't know why Trump took classified nuclear docs," Legum said in a follow-up tweet. "But certain nuclear information would have very high economic value to Saudi Arabia and other governments."
Fordham University law professor Jed Shugerman tweeted: "Why would Trump want to keep nuclear documents?" "It is time to review the 2019 House Oversight Committee's stunning allegations of nuclear corruption," between the Trump administration and "Saudi/Qatar."
That committee report made a number of accusations against the Trump administration, including that it tried "to rush the transfer of highly sensitive U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia." This was without congressional review and in potential violation of the Atomic Energy Act that restricts the export of U.S. nuclear technology.
The report also raised questions about the relationship between the White House and Riyadh following the murder of Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which was met with "equivocation by President Trump and other top Administration officials."
The report said that in the U.S. "strong private commercial interests have been pressing aggressively for the transfer of highly sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia," and this posed a "potential risk to U.S. national security absent adequate safeguards."
"These commercial entities stand to reap billions of dollars through contracts associated with constructing and operating nuclear facilities in Saudi Arabia," it added.
However, in July 2019, the Republican staff of the House Oversight Committee rejected Democrat claims that the Trump administration committed wrongdoing in its dealings with the Middle Eastern kingdom.
Their report said the firm IP3 International, comprised of former U.S. national security officials, pushing to build nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia, had kept Congress in the loop. Also, the Trump administration was "not rushing" nuclear technology to the kingdom, nor had it "skirted requirements for congressional notification."
"The evidence currently before the committee does not show impropriety in the proposed transfer of nuclear energy technology to Saudi Arabia," the Republicans said.
Meanwhile, Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has called the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago "outrageous", telling Fox News that no such documents containing nuclear information were "disseminated freely" at the resort.
Christina Bobb, an attorney for the former president, told Fox News that while she had not "specifically spoken to the president about what nuclear materials may or may not have been in there. I do not believe there were any in there."
Newsweek has contacted the Trump team for comment.
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Before Giving Billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi Investment Fund Had Big Doubts: Before committing $2 billion to Mr. Kushner’s fledgling firm, officials at a fund led by the Saudi crown prince questioned taking such a big risk.
by David D. Kirkpatrick
April 10, 2022
Six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the Saudi crown prince, a close ally during the Trump administration, despite objections from the fund’s advisers about the merits of the deal.
A panel that screens investments for the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund cited concerns about the proposed deal with Mr. Kushner’s newly formed private equity firm, Affinity Partners, previously undisclosed documents show.
Those objections included: “the inexperience of the Affinity Fund management”; the possibility that the kingdom would be responsible for “the bulk of the investment and risk”; due diligence on the fledgling firm’s operations that found them “unsatisfactory in all aspects”; a proposed asset management fee that “seems excessive”; and “public relations risks” from Mr. Kushner’s prior role as a senior adviser to his father-in-law, former President Donald J. Trump, according to minutes of the panel’s meeting last June 30.
But days later the full board of the $620 billion Public Investment Fund — led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler and a beneficiary of Mr. Kushner’s support when he worked as a White House adviser — overruled the panel.
Ethics experts say that such a deal creates the appearance of potential payback for Mr. Kushner’s actions in the White House — or of a bid for future favor if Mr. Trump seeks and wins another presidential term in 2024.
Mr. Kushner played a leading role inside the Trump administration defending Crown Prince Mohammed after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that he had approved the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post and resident of Virginia who had criticized the kingdom’s rulers.
The Saudi fund agreed to invest twice as much and on more generous terms with Mr. Kushner than it did at about the same time with former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — who was also starting a new fund — even though Mr. Mnuchin had a record as a successful investor before entering government, the documents show. The amount of the investment in his firm, Liberty Strategic Capital — $1 billion — has not been previously disclosed.
A spokesman for Mr. Kushner’s firm said of its relationship with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, “Affinity, like many other top investment firms, is proud to have PIF and other leading organizations that have careful screening criteria, as investors.”
A spokesman for the Saudi fund declined to comment on its investment process. If any additional discussions about the deal took place, they were not reflected in the documents and correspondence obtained by The New York Times.
The Times reported last fall that Mr. Kushner had been seeking a Saudi investment. Now, the internal fund records and correspondence obtained by The Times show the outcome, scale and timing of his firm’s deal as well as the debate it aroused. Those documents and other filings indicate that at this point Mr. Kushner’s venture depends primarily on the Saudi money.
Mr. Kushner planned to raise up to $7 billion in all, according to a document prepared last summer for the Saudi fund’s board. But so far he appears to have signed up few other major investors.
In its most recent public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated March 31, Mr. Kushner’s firm reported that its main fund had $2.5 billion under management, almost entirely from investors based overseas. Most of that appears to be the $2 billion from Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi documents obtained by The Times say that in return for its investment, the Saudi fund would receive a stake of at least 28 percent in Mr. Kushner’s main investment vehicle.
No law or rules constrain the investment activities of former administration officials after leaving the White House; many from both parties have profited from connections and experiences gained in government.
But Robert Weissman, president of the nonprofit group Public Citizen, called Mr. Kushner’s relationship with the Saudis “extremely troubling,” arguing that his stance toward the kingdom’s leadership as a senior adviser “makes the business partnership appear even more to be both a reward to, and an investment in, Kushner.”
Saudi officials say that the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, which also holds stakes in the ride-sharing company Uber and the Newcastle United Football Club in Britain, operates autonomously, with an elaborate governance structure that includes the investment panel. But Prince Mohammed took control of the fund when he rose to power in 2015 and he is its paramount decision maker.
Mr. Kushner, whose fund has not publicly disclosed a theme or focus, has little experience or track record in private equity. Before working in the White House, he ran his family’s commercial real estate empire, sometimes with disappointing results. His best-known deal was the $1.8 billion purchase of the office tower at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, in 2007; the building’s mortgage became a crippling liability when the recession hit the next year.
Diplomats, investors and ethics experts noted during the Trump administration that his anticipated return to the family business injected a potential conflict of interest into Mr. Kushner’s relationship with Prince Mohammed and other oil-wealthy Arab royals. Many are major long-term investors in American real estate, and the Kushner family had courted them before.
While advising Mr. Trump, Mr. Kushner developed a friendship and informal alliance with the Saudi crown prince. Prince Mohammed signaled that he favored closer relations between Israel and the Arab monarchs of the Persian Gulf, which was also one of Mr. Kushner’s priorities while in the Trump administration. He helped negotiate a series of agreements, called the Abraham Accords, opening diplomatic relations between Israel and other Arab monarchies. After leaving government, he set up a nonprofit to promote economic and other ties between the countries.
In Washington, Mr. Kushner had also helped broker $110 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over 10 years. He helped protect those and other weapons deals from congressional outrage over the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and the humanitarian catastrophe created by the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
The debate within the Saudi fund over investing with Mr. Kushner was a stark contrast to the easy approval of the proposal by Mr. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner who invested in numerous Hollywood films, including “The Lego Movie,” and helped resurrect a failing California bank before entering government.
Mr. Mnuchin’s fund is focused on cybersecurity, financial technology and entertainment — all sectors that fit Saudi priorities, according to an executive summary prepared by the fund’s staff. The summary noted that Mr. Mnuchin’s work at the Treasury gave him “significant access toward understanding the future of the U.S. financial system,” and the firm’s founders had “deep experience at some of the highest levels of the U.S. regulatory system” overseeing and monitoring its industries.
As Treasury secretary, Mr. Mnuchin had also chaired a committee responsible for vetting certain merger deals with foreign companies; the summary said he had “shaped” the new fund to accommodate investment from foreign governments like the kingdom.
In its most recent filing, dated March 31, Mr. Mnuchin’s firm reported raising $2.7 billion from a total of 33 investors. Most of the money came from abroad, and the Saudi documents say that other Persian Gulf states also invested.
A spokesman for Liberty Strategic Capital said the firm “has a diverse investor base including U.S. insurance companies, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors.”
Both Mr. Kushner’s and Mr. Mnuchin’s funds treated the Saudi fund as a “cornerstone” investor, the Public Investment Fund documents say, offering the Saudis a discount on the standard 2 percent asset management fee for private equity firms as well as a cut of the firm’s 20 percent share of any fund profits, known as carried interest.
But the Saudis agreed to pay Mr. Mnuchin’s firm only a 1 percent asset management fee, compared to 1.25 percent for Mr. Kushner’s, the documents indicate. On a $2 billion investment, that would pay his firm $25 million a year, not including a share of any profits earned by the Affinity fund.
Both firms agreed to open regional offices in Riyadh, which the Saudi government says it will soon require of any international company doing business with the kingdom.
The five-member board investment committee evaluating Mr. Kushner’s proposal referred to it with the code name Project Astro. The panel was led by Yasir al-Rumayyan, a Harvard Business School graduate who is also chairman of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant. The panel also included Andrew Liveris, the Australian-born former chief executive of the Dow Chemical Company, and Ayman al-Sayari, the vice chairman of the Saudi Central Bank.
A panel member identified in the minutes as Dr. al-Mojel — possibly Ibrahim al-Mojel, the chairman of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, who holds a Ph.D. from Stanford — asked before the June 30, 2021, meeting about the justification for investing in Mr. Kushner’s fund. “Why is the strategic benefit worth the risk?” he asked, according to printed responses.
The responses, apparently prepared by staff of the Saudi fund, argued that the promised Riyadh office of Mr. Kushner’s firm, Affinity, would help the Saudis “capitalize on the capabilities of Affinity’s founders’ deep understanding of different government policies and geopolitical systems.”
Why aren’t there any significant institutional investors from the US?
The Affinity principal would like to avoid media attention at this time. Accordingly, Affinity has approached international institutional investors on a very discreet basis (especially PIF as Affinity’s cornerstone LP) to anchor the launch of their inaugural fund.
Saudi staff wrote that Mr. Kushner was trying to avoid attention by initially courting only international institutions like the Saudi Public Investment Fund for his new venture.
Source: Minutes of the Board Investment Committee of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, June 30, 2021
The explanation for the absence of any American institutional investors in Mr. Kushner’s fund was that he “would like to avoid media attention,” the written responses said. “Accordingly, Affinity has approached international investors on a very discreet basis.”
Mr. Kushner’s lack of private equity experience and the “unsatisfactory” results of due diligence reviews conducted on behalf of the Saudi fund “are valid and important concerns,” the responses acknowledged, but they attributed the findings to the fact that he was still setting up the infrastructure for his company.
What’s more, the responses added, the Saudi fund had “partially mitigated these risks”: The Saudis had stipulated that Mr. Kushner’s firm could draw down only $500 million of the $2 billion commitment before “having a qualified investment team in place, on-boarding core operational professionals and constructing the investment committee.”
The expertise of the [general partner] isn’t relevant to the objective of the fund. Even the case studies presented focused on real estate only. Also, the operational [due diligence] shows that they are unsatisfactory in all aspects.
These are valid and important concerns. These risks have been flagged and detailed in the investment memo, including the risk of the Principal having limited experience in private equity and the inability for Affinity to provide any quantifiable investment track-record for their founding team.
Responding to objections raised about the $2 billion investment in Mr. Kushner’s fund, staff of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund acknowledged that he lacked a track record in private equity.
Source: Minutes of the Board Investment Committee of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, June 30, 2021
(Late last year, Mr. Kushner hired two experienced private equity investors, Bret Pearlman and Asad Naqvi; the recent securities filing states that Affinity Partners now has a staff of 20, about half of whom are investment professionals.)
Even after reading the responses, Mr. Liveris, the former Dow Chemical chief executive, and Mr. al-Sayari, of the Saudi Central bank, added their own doubts along with Dr. al-Mojel’s. Mr. al-Rumayyan, the panel chairman and top executive of the Saudi fund, appeared to concur, according to the minutes. The panel members did not respond to requests for comment or could not be reached.
The minutes record that all four panel members attending the meeting “stated that they are not in favor of Project Astro.” The panel’s rules require the votes of a majority of those present to pass a resolution, the minutes note. Mr. al-Rumayyan, in this case, suggested raising the panel’s “views and decision” to the fund’s board, led by the crown prince.
But within days, the board had passed a resolution approving the deal, documents show.
In a letter dated last July 5, fund staff explained to a board member who had questioned the size of the investment why it could not be cut back.
“This investment aims to form a strategic relationship with the Affinity Partners Fund and its founder, Jared Kushner,” the letter said. A reduction of the size of its $2 billion stake “may negatively or fundamentally affect the framework of the agreed strategic and commercial relationship.”
David D. Kirkpatrick is an investigative reporter based in New York and the author of “Into the Hands of the Soldiers: Freedom and Chaos in Egypt and the Middle East.“ In 2020 he shared a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on covert Russian interference in other governments and as the Cairo bureau chief from 2011 to 2015 he led coverage of the Arab Spring uprisings. @ddknyt • Facebook
Kate Kelly covers money, influence, and policy as a correspondent in the Washington bureau of the Times. Before that, she spent twenty years covering Wall Street deals, key players and their intersection with politics. She is the author of three books, including "The Education of Brett Kavanaugh." @katekelly
A version of this article appears in print on April 11, 2022, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Kushner Firm Got $2 Billion From Saudis.
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France’s Macron talks energy with Saudi Crown Prince MBS in Paris: MBS’s visit to France has been controversial, with President Macron criticised by some in his country.
aljazeera.com
Published On 29 Jul 2022
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French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shake hands at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
Energy was the main topic on the agenda between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during talks in Paris seen as a diplomatic rehabilitation of the de facto leader of the Saudi kingdom.
Aides to the French president had indicated ahead of the talks on Thursday that Macron would urge Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production to help bring down crude prices, reiterating a request made by United States President Joe Biden during a visit to Riyadh earlier this month.
A statement by the presidential office on Friday made no explicit reference to oil or gas, but said Macron had “underlined the importance of continuing the ongoing coordination with Saudi Arabia with regards to the diversification of energy supplies for European countries”.
With Russian oil and gas supplies either unavailable to European Union nations due to sanctions or being withheld by Moscow, European countries are desperately seeking alternative sources of fossil fuels.
Saudi Arabia is one of few countries worldwide with the capacity to increase its output.
The French statement said that Macron and MBS also discussed food security amid fears of famines caused by the loss of Ukrainian grain, and agreed to work “to ease the effects” of the war in Ukraine.
“The President and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia underlined the need to bring an end to this conflict and intensify their cooperation to ease the effects in Europe, the Middle East and the wider world,” Macron’s office said.
The two leaders also discussed the war in Yemen. The French president commended what he said were efforts by Saudi Arabia to “find a political, global and inclusive solution under the aegis of the United Nations and expressed his hope that the truce continues”, the statement said.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ahead of a working dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
‘Warm welcome’
MBS on Friday thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for the “warm reception”.
“As I leave your friendly country, it gives me great pleasure to express to your Excellency my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality accorded to me and the accompanying delegation,” bin Salman wrote in a message posted by the Saudi foreign ministry.
The de facto leader of the oil-rich nation is being courted again after being shunned by Western leaders following the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Macron and Biden both attracted criticism from rights groups for their rapprochement with the kingdom.
Biden fist-bumped MBS in a gesture that was seized on by critics, while Macron shook hands on the steps of the Elysee Palace as he welcomed the prince.
“He’s shaking the hand for a long time of man whose hands are covered in blood,” senior left-wing French MP Alexis Corbiere told BFM television on Friday.
The killing of Khashoggi was described by a United Nations probe as an “extrajudicial killing for which Saudi Arabia is responsible”. US intelligence agencies determined that MBS had “approved” the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death.
Hatice Cengiz, who was about to wed the journalist when he was killed, said on Thursday that she was “scandalised and outraged that Emmanuel Macron is receiving with all the honours the executioner of my fiancé”.
Allies of the French president defended the meeting as a demonstration of “realpolitik” – putting practical needs above principles in foreign policy.
Public services minister Stanislas Guerini, a close ally of the president, told Europe 1 radio on Friday that the role of the president was “to protect the French people” and that he believed that service had been carried out.
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Golfers eager to play for Saudi-funded LIV Golf despite human rights concerns: US golf media has been critical of LIV Golf, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. But for many golfers — especially lesser-known ones — the league offers unparalleled financial opportunities.
by Adam Lucente
al-monitor.com
June 27, 2022
A new Saudi-funded men’s golf league is attracting top golfers, despite criticism because of Saudi Arabia’s human rights issues.
LIV Golf is coming to the US city of Portland this weekend, and just won over another top golfer — Brooks Koepka. Playing on the new circuit, which is funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is especially attractive to lesser-known golfers who struggle to make a living playing the sport.
“People may not realize how expensive it is to be an aspiring golfer,” Brandon Cubitt, who heads New Nine Golf, told Al-Monitor. “LIV is appealing because it’s so much more money.”
LIV Golf was founded last year, and held its first tournament outside of London earlier this month. It is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is investing in an array of sectors to help the kingdom diversify and reduce dependence on oil. LIV Golf is headed by the Australian golf legend Greg Norman. The retired golfer has long been a critic of the PGA Tour, which is the dominant men’s golf competition in North America. LIV Golf only has male players at present, though Norman has expressed an interest in adding female golfers as well.
LIV Golf has been controversial from the start due to its Saudi funding source. The Gulf state has an array of human rights issues, including a high execution rate, legal discrimination against women and the infamous murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Saudi Arabia has made limited progress on some of these issues in recent years, granting women the right to drive in 2018 and easing male guardianship laws last year, for example.
Many top golfers have left the PGA for LIV due to the potential to make millions. Americans Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau have reportedly been offered more than $100 million each to join.
But LIV Golf is perhaps most appealing to less famous and less compensated golfers. Many LIV Golf players are not household names, such as Spain's David Puig, who most recently golfed for Arizona State University.
Cubitt is a scratch golfer in Alberta, Canada, who creates golf content on YouTube, Instagram and other channels. He pointed out that aspiring professional golfers who want to play on the PGA Tour must first compete in “Q School” competitions, which cost thousands of dollars just to enter.
“If guys are not making money, they have no way of paying these fees,” said Cubitt. “Some of these guys don’t necessarily come from money. They’re eating fast food five times a week.”
LIV Golf’s first event had a minimum payout of $120,000, which is more than five times higher than that of some PGA events.
Golfers who want to play in LIV face considerable criticism. Earlier this month, a Sept. 11 victims group slammed Mickelson for working with Saudi Arabia due to the Saudi government’s alleged role in the attacks. Northern Irish golf superstar Rory McIlroy recently called LIV Golf participants “duplicitous.” US golf media has been especially critical of the league. One Golf Channel analyst accused LIV Golf participants of “exchanging a little bit of their soul for money.”
There is a disconnect between the criticism of LIV Golf in US media and some of the players, according to one sports journalist.
“It’s easy for people not offered that money to say they’re not gonna take that money,” Chase Howell, who writes for The Action Network, told Al-Monitor.
Howell is also a caddy on the Korn Ferry Tour, which is a developmental golf tour whose players aspire to make it to the PGA. He referred to LIV’s minimum payout as “life-changing money” for such golfers, and said many golfers on his tour would seriously consider playing for LIV.
“Talk to tour players and people making careers out of golf — they’re a lot more supportive,” said Howell. “Golf media has been very anti-this league. I don’t think that's what the majority of the public thinks.”
At least one Korn Ferry Tour alum, Turk Petit, is now playing for LIV Golf, and others may soon join. Howell also pointed to the case of English golfer Sam Horsfield, who has made $397,157 in career earnings, including at international PGA events, according to Golf Channel. The minimum payout for LIV Golf’s first event, which Horsfield competed in, is equivalent to more than 25% of that.
LIV is also beating the PGA in terms of compensation for caddies.
“Caddies are treated very well on LIV. All travel and hotels are paid for. They’re going above and beyond for every caddy,” said Howell. “The PGA has never paid for travel.”
Some LIV caddies expressed similar views to Golf Digest this month.
LIV Golf has several more events scheduled this year, including two at Trump Golf courses and one in Saudi Arabia itself in October. The PGA has already responded to LIV Golf’s emergence, refusing to allow its players to compete in the rival league and also promising more guaranteed money to those who stay.
Some observers think the outrage over LIV Golf may dissipate. David Samson hosts the Nothing Personal podcast on CBS Sports and previously served as president of the professional baseball teams the Miami Marlins and the Montreal Expos. He said that LIV golfers can survive the outrage over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
“Golfers have taken advantage of the fact that, with the public, there’s generally initial rage that then disappears,” Samson told Al-Monitor. “There’s a huge amount of guaranteed money waiting on the other side of that.”
Samson added that LIV has improved its public relations, which he described as “terrible in the beginning.”
Earlier this year, Mickelson actually described Saudis as “scary” when asked about his connection to LIV Golf. The comments drew a tremendous backlash.
Now, Norman is going on the offensive. Last month, he acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s human rights issues and praised the “cultural change” in the country. This month, he pointed out that the PGA Tour’s own sponsors do tens of billions of dollars worth of business in Saudi Arabia, which the golfer called “hypocrisy.”
“LIV did a good job with PR saying ‘we all have hypocrisy,’” said Samson.
Whether LIV Golf can compete with the PGA in the years to come remains to be seen. Many other rival sport leagues in North America have failed, such as the XFL American football league. Samson said LIV’s success “depends on the level of investment” from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Some in the golf world also feel that LIV may not be as exciting to watch as the “major” golf championships, such as the US Open and PGA Championship. For example, wins on the LIV Golf circuit do not count toward world golf rankings. Howell described LIV as more of an “exhibition.”
“They’re not playing to win as much. There’s not a bad side to losing. Part of the reason we love golf is the nerves we get,” he said. “People like the blowups, to see if people make mistakes. That’s why the majors are enticing.”
Many of golf's biggest names remain loyal to the PGA Tour. American Tiger Woods, who is chasing the record for most major titles of all time, turned down close to $1 billion to join LIV Golf, Norman told The Washington Post in May.
Cubitt said that golfers will need to choose between career achievements and the Public Investment Fund’s fortune when deciding whether to join LIV Golf.
“Guys really have to weigh what winning notable championships means,” he said. “It’s lifestyle and guaranteed money versus legacy.”
